When a Genius Falls in Love
by Kat-chan8806
Summary: What will happen when Jeremie tries to tell Aelita how he feels about her? It won't be easy for either of them. Jeremie x Aelita fic. Rated T, just to be safe.
1. The Beginning

A/N: This is the first fanfic I've written in a long time. I know the first chapter is short, but this is meant to be a sort of preview. If I can continue the idea, I will. Just please leave some feedback, even if it's criticism. Now, on with the story.

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Title: When a Genius Falls in Love

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Anime: Code Lyoko

Author: Kat-chan8806

Pairing: Jeremie x Aelita

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The only sound in the room was the clicking of Jeremie's fingers on his keyboard. Any stranger would have thought he was finishing a school paper or typing an email. The latter would be closer to true. He was, in fact, typing a letter. A very personal letter, and on its behalf he had forced his friends away for the morning.

There was a pause in his typing during which all was silence. His brain seemed to be screaming at him to be heard above the pounding of his heart. He was thinking about _her_. The girl whom he had tried for so long to bring into his world, and the girl that he loved above all others. Aelita. She was smart, pretty, and one of the kindest people he knew. Just the thought of her brought a blush to his cheeks.

A quick glance at his computer screen would reveal a few short lines that made almost no sense. In irritation, he slammed the backspace key and watched the words disappear. 'Why can't I get this right?' his mind asked him, 'How hard is it to tell her what I feel?' Actually, that was the problem. He needed to _tell_ her, not type her some letter to leave resting at the foot of her door. 'She deserves to hear it from me, directly,' his mind decided, and he stood from his chair to head toward the door. If only he knew how difficult it would be to speak from his heart...

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Aelita Stones. Odd's cousin. What a lie. Aelita sat at a desk in her dorm room, staring blankly out the window. Not only did she not belong in the real world, but she was also plagued by endless memories that she could barely even piece together, nevertheless understand. Ever since Jeremie had brought her to live on Earth, she experienced something new each day. First, the memories that seemed to be from a life she may have once led. Now, it was time she discovered love. That awkward feeling that nagged at the back of her mind and the bottom of her heart. She merely sighed, without knowing why.

Her contemplation was interrupted by a knock on the door to her room. Startled from her reverie, she stood and walked to the door. She opened it and her eyes fell upon Jeremie.

"Hello, Jeremie. What's wrong? Has XANA attacked?" Her voice was almost cheerful.

Jeremie took a breath. "No, but... I think we need to talk..."


	2. Wavering Decisions

Title: When a Genius Falls in love

Chapter 2: Wavering Decisions

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Aelita was startled, but invited him inside the room nonetheless. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked, getting straight to the point.

Jeremie would have answered if it weren't for the knot forming in his throat. He never had been good at this sort of thing. "I, um... I wanted to tell you... something..."

"Alright." Aelita waited for an answer. When none came, she persisted, "What is it?"

Jeremie's mind was pressuring him, 'Just say it. She needs to know. Say it, now.'

"Jeremie?" Aelita was beginning to get a little concerned.

"I... I..." The words died in Jeremie's throat. He couldn't think with Aelita staring at him. "Uh... I wanted to tell you..." Then he backed out, "...Do you want to go get... something to... eat...?" The diversion was killed almost instantly by Aelita's raised eyebrow. She wasn't fooled. The reddening of Jeremie's cheeks told her that he had something else on his mind besides just lunch. But, unsure what he had in mind, she decided to play along for now.

"Sure. Let's go."

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Jeremie could hardly concentrate on the meal. He was far too disappointed in himself to eat. He just sat there, moving his food around with his fork. 'Why can't I tell her?' He looked up at Aelita, who smiled. 'If only she knew,' Jeremie thought. But how would she know if he didn't tell her? After moments of debating with himself and trying to come up with the perfect words to say to Aelita, Jeremie finally built up the courage to speak again.

"Aelita, I think you should know that I--"

"Hey, Einstein!"

Jeremie almost fell out of his seat. It was Odd. Great.

"Hello, Odd." Aelita was oblivious to what Jeremie was about to say.

"Hey there, Princess." Odd took a seat beside Jeremie. "What're you guys doing?"

By this time, Jeremie had gotten over his shock and turned to Odd. He wanted to tell Odd to leave, but before he could say anything...

"So, did you finish that loooooove letter yet?" Odd smirked as he said this. Jeremie was not amused.

"It wasn't a-- How did you--- ODD!"

Odd was roaring with laughter as Jeremie crossed his arms. Then, as if being interrupted by Odd wasn't bad enough, the rest of the gang just had to pick that moment to show up.

"Hi, Jeremie. Aelita. What's gotten into Odd?" Ulrich stood staring at Odd while Yumi took a seat beside Aelita.

Jeremie gave up. There was no way he could tell Aelita how he felt with everyone else hanging around. He stood up and took his tray.

"Where are you going, Jeremie?" Aelita asked, puzzled.

"I'll see you later," was his seemingly calm reply, and he left.

---

When Jeremie got to his room, he sat down on his bed, and put his head in his hands. He finally found someone he cared about, and he couldn't even tell her. Then an idea hit him. Who was the one person he knew who had been in more relationships than he could count?

"I have to talk to Odd," Jeremie said aloud, and it was decided.


	3. Taking Odd's Advice

Title: When a Genius Falls in Love

Chapter 3: Taking Odd's Advice

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Odd looked up as soon as he heard the knock on his door. "Yeah, who is it?" He walked over and opened the door and, to his surprise, Jeremie was standing there, red in the face.

"What's the matter, Einstein?" Odd asked.

Jeremie fiddled with his glasses. "I, uh... need your advice..."

Odd wasn't sure he heard right. Jeremie needed advice from _him_? "Okay, what can I do for ya?"

"It's about Aelita..."

After explaining to Odd about his feelings for Aelita, Odd could understand the problem. Computer nerds aren't exactly good at expressing their emotions. Or, at least, Jeremie wasn't. "Well, Einstein, there's only one thing you can do. You've got to make your move."

Jeremie blinked. "What do you mean, 'make my move'?"

"Just what I said. If you're not going to tell her how you feel, you're going to have to show her."

"Odd, what _are_ you talking about?" Jeremie had started chewing on his lower lip. How do you _show_ someone how you feel?

"Ask her out. Go to the movies or something."

Jeremie thought about it. "Well, now that you mention it, there's a new sci-fi film out. We could go see it."

"_Sci-fi_? Are you crazy? Really, Jeremie, you don't know anything about girls. Take her to a romantic movie!"

Jeremie didn't know how to respond to this at all. He couldn't take Aelita to a movie filled with kissing. He doubted Aelita even knew what romance was. After arguing with Odd for about an hour, Jeremie realized he had no choice, although some of Odd's more mature suggestions would simply not do. So, in defeat, Jeremie went to pay Aelita another visit.

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Aelita was happy about going to the movies. She didn't seem to mind going to a romance film, mainly because she didn't really understand the human concept of 'romance.' They arrived at the theater and Jeremie paid for their tickets. They took their seats in one of the middle rows on the left side of the room and set down their drinks and bags of popcorn.

"I've never been to the movies before. What's that big computer screen for?"

Jeremie explained all about movies and projections, glad to have something sensible to talk about. When the movie started, however, this quickly changed.

Within the first twenty minutes of the movie, Jeremie's face seemed to have been permanently stained red. Some of the things happening on the movie screen made him wish he was anywhere but there. And it was even worse that Aelita was sitting beside him. 'Why did I ever listen to Odd? Why did I ever listen to Odd!' his mind chanted frantically, 'This is awful!' He couldn't bring himself to even look at Aelita.

Aelita, however, didn't seem to be affected by it. She was much too entertained by looking back and forth between the projection machine and the movie screen. Having lived in Lyoko, she knew a lot about computers, but she had no idea that humanity had evolved this much. She was fascinated.

Jeremie was physically shaken by the time the movie was over. He reminded himself to break Odd's neck the next time he saw him. Aelita was chatting cheerily about how the light from the projection changed with the movie screen and how she couldn't wait to go to another movie and study the projection process more carefully. Jeremie noted mentally that the next movie they went to together would _not_ be a romance movie.

They returned to Kadic Academy and Aelita finally noticed that Jeremie's face looked like it had been painted crimson. "Are you okay?" she asked, "You look sick."

"I'm not sick," he assured her, "Just a little bit, um..." He paused for a minute, "I'm just a little... embarrassed, that's all."

"Embarrassed? What's that?"

Jeremie thought of how to explain it to her, but decided that he couldn't find the right words to say, so he changed the subject. "Aelita, there's something I really have to tell you..."

Aelita stopped walking. "Okay, what is it?"

'Here we go again...' Jeremie's mind groaned. This was not going to be easy, especially not after seeing that movie. "I, uh... I l-lo... I..."

"Jeremie, what's wrong? You're talking funny."

"I-I..." he tried again, but with no luck. Aelita was getting concerned about him. After a moment of awkward silence, Jeremie decided that he could not tell her right now. So, he backed out, again. "It's n-nothing... nevermind..."

Aelita gave him a concerned look, but she knew he would tell her what was bothering him eventually. Jeremie walked Aelita to her room, and they stood there for a minute, Jeremie gazing at Aelita with a look almost of pain. Not being able to tell her his feelings was killing him. Without even realizing what he was doing, Jeremie leaned toward Aelita and closed his eyes. All he was aware of was the taste of her lips and the bursting feeling in his heart.

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A/N: Next (and probably last) chapter should be up soon. Don't forget to review with your opinions!


	4. To Understand Confessions

A/N: Well, I'm wrapping this story up with this chapter. There's not going to be an epilogue or anything, this is it. I may base a one-shot on it later on, but that's a major 'might.' Well, I hope you enjoy the end. Here goes.

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Title: When a Genius Falls in Love

Chapter 4: To Understand Confessions

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Aelita's eyes widened in shock when she felt Jeremie's lips upon hers. She didn't understand. All she knew was that she liked the feeling that was welling up inside her chest. After what seemed like forever, it all ended. Jeremie was standing in front of her wearing on his face a shade of red the world has yet to see. This made Aelita understand even less. When she didn't say anything, Jeremie looked to the ground. He cleared his throat, mumbled something inaudible under his breath, and dashed toward the stairs.

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The next morning, Aelita met up with Yumi outside the school. Aelita had been thinking about what had happened the night before and couldn't make any sense of it. So, naturally, she sought the counsel of another female. Aelita told Yumi what had happened, and Yumi had been strangely interested in the whole story. Yet something else Aelita didn't understand. Yumi just smiled.

"He likes you," Yumi said to her. When Aelita replied that she thought Jeremie liked everyone in their gang, Yumi was forced to elaborate, "No, Aelita, he has special feelings for you. I think he loves you."

Here, Aelita began to understand. During the movie the previous night, she had caught a few random words that she didn't really understand. 'Love' was one of those words. "Yumi, what's love?"

Yumi had to think a minute. How could you describe something as abstract as love? "Well... Love is when you have unique feelings for someone. When one person means more to you than anything else in the world. It's a matter of the heart. When you have love, you feel like you're walking on air; you feel like you've got everything in the world, just as long as you have that one special person. But if you _don't_ have love, you feel lonely and you feel like the world is a cold place. Especially if you've had love and lost it. Love can hurt more than any physical pain."

The explanation was a bit long and involved, but Aelita thought she understood. "So what do I do?"

"That depends. Do you love Jeremie?"

Aelita needed only a moment to think. "Yes, I think I do."

"Then you should go tell him."

Aelita began walking toward the dormitories, but stopped after just a few steps. "There's one more thing I'd like to know, Yumi."

"Okay, what is it?"

"What is 'embarrassed'? Jeremie said he had it. Is it a type of illness?"

To Aelita's surprise, Yumi chuckled. "No, Jeremie isn't sick. 'Embarrassed' is when you feel uncomfortable about a situation. He probably just didn't know how to react, so he became embarrassed. It's nothing serious."

"Oh. Okay." Aelita didn't really understand, but she guessed that it really wasn't important after all so she said goodbye to Yumi and started towards Jeremie's room.

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Aelita knocked on the door. "Jeremie? May I come in?" The door was slung open almost immediately.

"Aelita! Good morning!" Any further words refused to leave his mouth.

Aelita, who obviously had no idea how delicate a situation love is, said cheerily, "I love you, Jeremie!"

Jeremie thought he had misheard her at first. "Wh-what?"

"I love you," Aelita repeated casually. The calmness with which she said it was almost unnerving.

"D-do you even know what love is?" Jeremie asked, thinking maybe Aelita was just repeating what she heard on the movie the night before.

"Of course I do. Yumi explained it to me."

That settled it, then. Aelita knew what she was saying, but how could she say it so easily? After a moment's silence, Jeremie said weakly, "I... I love... I love you too..."

Aelita's reaction was disturbing. She just gave a smile, said "That's great, now let's go to breakfast!" and took Jeremie's hand to lead him to the cafeteria. Jeremie had no idea if Aelita grasped the full concept of 'love,' but he was glad that she at least knew he loved her. It didn't need to be said that they were going together; it was understood by them and by the rest of the gang. Aelita and Jeremie were a couple, and all was well.

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A/N: That's it. The story's over. What did y'all think? Be sure to review with your comments!


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